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Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot has become a cultural code word for betrayal. We don’t know the circumstances of how Judas became a disciple. We do know from John chapters 12 and 13 that he handled the group’s money bag, and unbeknownst to the other disciples, he stole from it. John even brings out the contrast between that attitude and Jesus’ attitude and his ministry of selfless sacrifice and generosity. Judas, of course, is most well-known for betraying Jesus, for contracting with Jesus’ opponents to have Jesus arrested at an opportune time. But when Judas realizes that these opponents are gonna put Jesus to death, he is remorseful. He is crushed by his sin. He tries to return the money, but then in his despair he commits suicide. He dies in unbelief. He hangs himself.
Now, Judas very likely was a believer at one time, and he certainly wasn’t predestined by God to die in unbelief. God knew that Judas would take this action. But Judas’ case even illustrates how deep and thorough Jesus’ sacrifice was. Judas could have brought about the death of God’s Son through his treacherous betrayal, and yet on the other side of Easter, he could have found that the death he brought about actually paid the penalty for his sin of betrayal.
We have a similar case in Simon Peter, who didn’t lead to Jesus’ death in that way, but did deny knowing Jesus. He denied Christ when Christ was being put on trial. And he’s also sorrowful and remorseful, but on the other side of Easter, he is restored and forgiven, and given a place of great leadership as if to say, “You, Peter, have a deep insight into my grace. You need to be the one leading in telling this to others.”
That could have been Judas’ future, and his tale is a cautionary one for us. You know, our sins also have brought about Jesus’ death, in that his death paid the penalty for our sins. He suffered the punishment for them, but he exhausted that punishment from God. So no matter how deep you’ve fallen, no matter how shameful your sin, keep the faith. Find yourself in Christ, who risen from the dead proclaims even that sin is forgiven by God.
Now, after the death of Judas Iscariot and after Jesus later ascends into heaven, the disciples choose someone to replace him among the 12 to bring that number back up to 12. His name is Matthias, and he would have been also an eyewitness to all Jesus did, though he wasn’t one of the 12 originally. But clearly the disciples are very careful to maintain that number because they understand themselves to be, the leaders of the true continuation of God’s people, modeled after the 12 sons of Jacob. The head, the spiritual leaders of a new 12 tribes of God’s people, the Christian Church, which is founded on this conviction that Christ’s sacrifice for sin has no end.
